Riyadh-based Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Al Waleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz, the world's fifth-wealthiest man, plans to list some of its Dh7.35 billion ($2 billion) hotel and media assets on the Dubai and London stock exchanges in the next two years.
Prince Al Waleed, whose fortune is estimated at $24 billion, was last week quoted in the British press as saying that he planned to sell shares in his Middle Eastern joint venture Kingdom Hotels Investment Group before the end of the year.
"The company will be worth more than $1 billion, with a dual listing in Dubai and London," said Prince Al Waleed. However, he did not mention what proportion of the investment would be floated nor whom he would enlist to oversee the floatation.
Prince Al Waleed has substantial business interests in Dubai, including stakes in the Fairmont Hotel Dubai, and Fairmont Palm Hotel and Resort which is being developed by Kuwait-based IFA Hotels and Resort and will be managed by Fairmont.
Earlier this year, KHI decided to invest Dh735 million in a luxury hotel in Dubai, the Palm Island Jumeirah. The project will become KHI's fourth hotel investment in Dubai.
"We are excited to enhance our presence in the continuously growing and dynamic market of Dubai. This development project marks another milestone," he said in April.
The KHI Group also plans to buy or build at least 35 more hotels in Dubai, Egypt, Bahrain and other Arab countries over the next three years.
Prince Al Waleed also co-owns London's Dorchester among other top hotels, such as the IFA Hotels and has stake in Fairmont Hotels and Resorts and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
The company to be floated will own a portfolio of hotels in the Middle East and Africa, while the prince will retain his stakes in Western hotels such as The Savoy in London, the George V in Paris and Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Gulf News
